WASHINGTON – We all know that snow is coming. But the question remains just much snow is going to move into our area.
The timing on this has not been an issue during the forecasting phase, everything has been pretty consistent on that topic. The onset of snow will not affect the typical rush hour in the D.C. metro region.
We will slowly see snow move from south to north into the southern tier of our listening area after 6 p.m. and continue to move into D.C. metro area between 8 and 10 p.m. and then continue on its northward journey through the late evening hours.
␎ 
Time of the onset of precipitation are in Military times so 18:00 is 6 p.m.; 19:00 is 7p.m. and 20:00 is 8 p.m. The precipitation will move continue to spread northward towards the Mason-Dixon Line by 10 p.m.
Once the snow begins to fall, conditions will deteriorate rapidly. Try to get to where you need to be by the evening hours. The snow will fall quickly and rapidly during the overnight hours so when you wake up tomorrow morning, there will be several inches of snow already on the ground.
If you live east of Interstate 95, you may already have reached the totals you will see for the day as warm air will move in to the region by the morning hours, bringing more of a rain/sleet mix. This mix will drastically cut down on totals around the area.
␎ 
More of a mix will creep in from the coast as warm air moves in and travels west during the day Thursday, which will cut snow accumulations eat of Interstate 95.
The heaviest totals will still remain west of the D.C. area and into the Shenandoah Valley. There could be some more locally heavy totals in the 6 inch to 12 inch range. This chart shows the general expectation as far as snow totals go through the area:
␎ 
Revised snowfall predictions as of 5 p.m.
The winds will pick up through the day Thursday and could be gusty at times. We’re not looking at much sleet accumulation since this will eventually change to rain and temperatures will moderate.
However, the breezy winds during the day of course will bring the wind chill factor down as well, so bundle those kids up even more if they are anticipating playing in the snow!
The snow will be more of the wet variety closer to the coast (5:1 ratio) and slightly drier as you head north and west (10:1 – 12:1 snow to liquid ratio for those weather junkies out there).
Snow will continue through the morning hours north and west of D.C. with a possibly mix southeast of the D.C. Everything will move out by tomorrow afternoon to Thursday evening (depending on your location).
␎ 
By Friday, winds will calm and travel from the south pushing our temperatures up into the lower 40s! We could even get some sunshine for a time on Friday but another cold front will travel through the region Friday night bringing yet again, another chance for some snow showers. However, thank goodness, no accumulation is expected.
Follow @WTOP on Twitter and Lauryn Ricketts on Facebook.
